Replacement metal gate structures

ABSTRACT

Replacement metal gate structures with improved chamfered workfunction metal and self-aligned contact and methods of manufacture are provided. The method includes forming a replacement metal gate structure in a dielectric material. The replacement metal gate structure is formed with a lower spacer and an upper spacer above the lower spacer. The upper spacer having material is different than material of the lower spacer. The method further includes forming a self-aligned contact adjacent to the replacement metal gate structure by patterning an opening within the dielectric material and filling the opening with contact material. The upper spacer prevents shorting with the contact material.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to semiconductor structures and, moreparticularly, to replacement metal gate structures with improvedchamfered workfunction metal and self-aligned contact and methods ofmanufacture.

BACKGROUND

Many challenges exist as semiconductor structures scale smaller andsmaller. For example, complementary metal oxide semiconductors (CMOS) inthe 7 nm node require small Lgate. Small Lgate, though, poses challengesin replacement high-k metal gate processes.

For example, with a gate length (Lg) less than 20 nm, a workfunctionmetal is deposited within a small opening formed by removal of a dummygate structure. The deposition of the workfunction metal in such a smallopening forms a seam due to a pinch-off effect. The deposition processis then followed by a recessing (chamfering) which removes workfunctionmetal in the upper portion of the gate before tungsten deposition, inorder to improve gate resistance. However, it is very difficult torecess the workfunction metal without undesirably removing some ofworkfunction metal at a bottom of the seam and then etching the gatedielectric material and exposing the underlying fin structure, once theseam is open. Also, the formation of the self-aligned contact exposesthe metal material of the replacement gate due to erosion of thesidewall spacer material, e.g., SiO₂, resulting in potential contact togate shorting or other reliability issues.

SUMMARY

In an aspect of the invention, a method comprises forming a replacementmetal gate structure in a dielectric material. The replacement metalgate structure is formed with a lower spacer and an upper spacer abovethe lower spacer. The upper spacer having material is different thanmaterial of the lower spacer. The method further comprises forming aself-aligned contact adjacent to the replacement metal gate structure bypatterning an opening within the dielectric material and filling theopening with contact material. The upper spacer prevents shorting withthe contact material.

In an aspect of the invention, a method comprises: forming a dummy gatestructure with a first spacer of a first material; removing dummy gatematerial of the dummy gate structure to form an opening; forming gatedielectric material on the first spacer, within the opening; depositingworkfunction material on the gate dielectric material; removing an upperportion of the first spacer to form a space between interleveldielectric material and the gate dielectric material; laterally etchingthe workfunction material and the gate dielectric material from withinthe space to form a recessed portion with exposure of sidewalls of theinterlevel dielectric material above the first spacer; depositing asecond spacer on the exposed sidewalls of the interlevel dielectricmaterial above the first spacer, the second spacer having materialdifferent than the first material; filling remaining portions of therecessed portion with metal gate material; forming a cap layer on themetal gate material; and forming a self-aligned contact adjacent to themetal gate material.

In an aspect of the invention, a replacement gate structure comprises: alower spacer having a first material; an upper spacer above the lowerspacer, the upper spacer being of a different material than the firstmaterial; a gate dielectric material lining the lower spacer and over aportion of a fin structure; a workfunction material on the gatedielectric material; a replacement gate material plugging an open seamof the workfunction material and above the workfunction material; a capmaterial on the replacement gate material, encapsulating an upperportion of the replacement gate material with upper spacer; and aself-aligned contact separated from the replacement gate structure bythe upper spacer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is described in the detailed description whichfollows, in reference to the noted plurality of drawings by way ofnon-limiting examples of exemplary embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional view of a structure and respectivefabrication processes in accordance with aspects of the invention.

FIG. 2 shows one or more processes of removing a patterned dummy gateamongst other fabrication processes and respective structure inaccordance with aspects of the invention.

FIG. 3 shows one or more processes of forming a spacer material amongstother fabrication processes and a respective structure in accordancewith aspects of the invention.

FIG. 4 shows one or more processes of removing upper portions materialand respective structure in accordance with aspects of the invention.

FIG. 5 shows one or more processes of filling a seam and respectivestructure in accordance with aspects of the invention.

FIG. 6 shows one or more processes of forming a sidewall or spacer andrespective structure in accordance with aspects of the invention.

FIG. 7 shows one or more processes of recessing a material amongst otherfabrication processes and a respective structure in accordance withaspects of the invention.

FIG. 8 shows one or more processes of forming a contact amongst otherfabrication processes and a respective structure in accordance withaspects of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The invention relates to semiconductor structures and, moreparticularly, to replacement gate structures with improved chamferedworkfunction metal and self-aligned contact and methods of manufacture.More specifically, in embodiments, the fabrication methods describedherein simultaneously address workfunction metal chamfering (e.g.,removal of an upper portion of the workfunction metal of the replacementmetal gate during etch back processes) and low-k spacer erosion inself-aligned contact processes, which lead to contact to gate shortingand other reliability issues.

For example, the methods described herein eliminate undesirable removalof workfunction metal material at a bottom of a seam during etch backprocesses of a lower workfunction metal, thereby maintaining thedesigned Vt parameters of the workfunction metal. The methods describedherein further prevent erosion of the underlying high-k dielectricduring etch back processes of the lower workfunction metal. Moreover,due to materials and processes used for spacer deposition processes,contact-to-gate shorting that otherwise result during the conventionalformation of a self-aligned contact process is eliminated.

The structures of the present invention can be manufactured in a numberof ways using a number of different tools. In general, though, themethodologies and tools are used to form structures with dimensions inthe micrometer and nanometer scale. The methodologies, i.e.,technologies, employed to manufacture the structures of the presentinvention have been adopted from integrated circuit (IC) technology. Forexample, the structures of the present invention are built on wafers andare realized in films of material patterned by photolithographicprocesses on the top of a wafer. In particular, the fabrication of thestructures of the present invention uses three basic building blocks:(i) deposition of thin films of material on a substrate, (ii) applying apatterned mask on top of the films by photolithographic imaging, and(iii) etching the films selectively to the mask.

FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional view of a structure and respectivefabrication processes in accordance with aspects of the invention. Thestructure 10 includes a substrate 12. In embodiments, the substrate 12can be a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate or bulk wafer. By way ofexample, the substrate 12 includes a wafer 14, an insulator layer 16 anda semiconductor layer 18. The semiconductor layer 18 can be formeddirectly on the insulator layer 16, e.g., buried oxide layer (BOX). Thesemiconductor layer 18 can be any suitable semiconductor materialincluding, but not limited to, Si, SiGe, SiGeC, SiC, GE alloys, GaAs,InAs, InP, and other III/V or II/VI compound semiconductors.

Still referring to FIG. 1, the semiconductor layer 18 is patterned intoa plurality of fin structures of which a cross-sectional side view isshown at reference numeral 18. The fin structures 18 can be fabricatedusing conventional sidewall image transfer techniques. For example, inthe SIT technique, a mandrel material, e.g., SiO₂, is deposited usingconventional chemical vapor deposition (CVD) processes. A resist isformed on the mandrel material, and exposed to light to form a pattern(openings). A reactive ion etching (RIE) is performed through theopenings to form the mandrels. Spacers are formed on the sidewalls ofthe mandrels which includes material different than the mandrels, andwhich are formed using conventional deposition processes known to thoseof skill in the art. The spacers can have a width which matches thedimensions of the fin structures 18, for example. The mandrels areremoved or stripped using a conventional etching process, selective tothe mandrel material. An etching is performed within the spacing of thespacers to form the sub-lithographic features, e.g., fin structures 18.The sidewall spacers can then be stripped.

FIG. 1 further shows a dummy gate process in accordance with aspects ofthe invention. In this process, a dummy gate material 15, e.g.,polycrystalline silicon, is blanket deposited on the fin structures 18using a conventional deposition process such as CVD. The dummy gatematerial 15 is then patterned using conventional photolithographic andetching processes. In embodiments, the dummy gate material 15 ispatterned in an orthogonal direction with respect to the underlying finstructures 18. By way of example, a resist is formed over the dummy gatematerial 15, which is exposed to energy (e.g., light) to form a pattern(opening). A RIE process is performed through the openings of the resistto pattern the dummy gate material 15. The resist is removed usingoxygen ashing processes or other conventional stripping processes.

Spacers 22 are formed on the sidewalls of the patterned dummy gate 15using conventional sidewall deposition processes. In embodiments, thespacers 22 can be a low-k spacer. The low-k spacer refers to a materialwhich has a k value less than that of SiN (k=7), for example, the low-kmaterial could be SiBCN, SiOCN or SiON, etc. The spacers 22 can have athickness of about 5 nm to 12 nm; although other dimensions are alsocontemplated by the present invention. Source and drain regions can beformed using conventional ion implantation or doping processes, asshould already be understood by those of skill in the art such that nofurther explanation is required in order to understand the invention. Aninterlevel dielectric material 20 is deposited over the patterned dummygate 15 and spacers 22. The interlevel dielectric material 20 can beplanarized using a conventional chemical mechanical planarization (CMP)process. The CMP process will expose an upper surface of the patterneddummy gate 15 and spacers 22.

FIGS. 2-7 show replacement metal gate processes and respectivestructures in accordance with aspects of the invention. Morespecifically, in the processes of FIG. 2, the patterned dummy gate 15can be removed using a selective etching process to the material of thepatterned dummy gate 15. The removal process will result in an openingformed within the interlevel dielectric material 20, with the spacers 22remaining on sidewalls thereof. In embodiments, the opening can be about15 nm or less (e.g., 7 nm node target). A high-k gate dielectricmaterial 24 is deposited within the opening, over the spacers 22. Inembodiments, the high-k gate dielectric material 24 can be a hafniumbased material, e.g., HfO₂, as an illustrative example. In embodiments,the high-k gate dielectric material 24 can be deposited to a depth ofabout 2 nm; although other dimensions are also contemplated by thepresent invention.

Still referring to FIG. 2, a workfunction material (e.g., metalmaterial) 26 is deposited within the remaining portion of the smallopening, over the high-k dielectric material 24. In embodiments, theworkfunction material 26 can be any metal material with a certainworkfunction, depending on the design parameters of the transistor. Theworkfunction material 26 can be deposited using conventional depositionmethods such as, for example, CVD or atomic layer deposition (ALD). Dueto the small dimension of the opening, e.g., on the order of 9 nm orless, the deposition process of the workfunction material 26 willpinch-off, forming a seam 28.

In FIG. 3, the spacer material 22 is selectively recessed or etched backto form openings 30 on sides of the workfunction material 26 and, morespecifically, between the interlevel dielectric material 20 and thehigh-k dielectric material 24. For example, in embodiments, therecessing of the spacer material 22 can be performed by a selectiveetching process, which will not significantly affect or erode theinterlevel dielectric material 20, the high-k dielectric material 24, orthe workfunction metal 26. In embodiments, the spacer material 22 can beetched back to about 50% to 70% of the height of the workfunction metal26 (e.g., height of the replacement gate structure). In more specificembodiments, the selective recessing or etch back process can removeabout 30 nm to 50 nm of the spacer material 22. In even more specificembodiments, the spacer material 22 can be etched back to correspond toa level of the seam 28.

In FIG. 4, upper portions of the high-k dielectric material 24 andworkfunction material 26 can be removed by a lateral etching process,through the openings 30. In embodiments, the upper portions of thehigh-k dielectric material 24 and the workfunction material 26 can beremoved by a wet etching process. In one example, the lateral etch ofthe workfunction material 26 has a target thickness slightly greaterthan the workfunction material 26. For example, a 6 nm etch will remove5 nm thick workfunction material. As a lateral etching process is usedto remove the upper portions of the high-k dielectric material 24 andthe workfunction material 26, even when the seam 28 is open, anadditional 1 nm overetch will not completely remove the workfunctionmaterial 26 down to the fin level (compared to the conventional top downworkfunction metal recess). In other words, the lateral etch processwill prevent the seam from being etched through, preventing exposure ofthe material of the fin structure 18 or erosion of the gate dielectricmaterial 24.

As shown in FIG. 5, the remaining portions of the seam 28 can be filled(plugged) with a metal material 34. In embodiments, the metal material34 can be tungsten or other metal material with a desired highresistivity. The metal material 34 can be deposited using a conventionalblanket deposition fill process, e.g., CVD, followed by etch backprocesses.

In FIG. 6, a sidewall or spacer 36 is formed on exposed sidewalls of theinterlevel dielectric material 20, directly above the spacers 22. Inembodiments, the spacer 36 is a nitride material, e.g., SiN, which ismore robust than the material of spacer 22, e.g., SiBCN or SiOCN, etc.More specifically, as should be understood by those of skill in the art,the nitride spacer 36 is more resistive to a later self-aligned contactRIE process than SiBCN or SiOCN, etc., thus acting as an etch stop tothe underlying gate metal during the self-aligned contact RIE process.The spacer 36 can be deposited using any conventional sidewalldeposition process. The remaining portions of the opening 32 are filledwith a metal material 38. In embodiments, the metal material 38 will bethe same as the metal material 34, e.g., tungsten. The metal material 38can be deposited using a tungsten fill process, followed by a CMPprocess.

As shown in FIG. 7, the metal material 38 is recessed, followed by theformation of a self-aligned contact cap 40. By way of example, the metalmaterial 38 can be recessed using a selective tungsten etching process,followed by a cap deposition process. The cap deposition process can bea nitride deposition process, which is provided by a blanket depositionprocess. The deposition process is followed by a CMP process to form theself-aligned contact cap 40. The spacer 36 and cap 40 will encapsulatean upper portion of the metal 38, protecting it during subsequentself-aligned contact RIE processes.

In FIG. 8, an oxide or other dielectric material 42 is depositeddirectly on the interlevel dielectric material 22 and self-alignedcontact cap 40. The interlevel dielectric material 22 and dielectricmaterial 42 are then patterned (e.g., etched) to form a self-alignedcontact opening to the fin structure 18. In the etching process to formthe self-aligned contact opening, the material of the spacer 36, e.g.,nitride, will reduce spacer corner erosion. More specifically, althoughthe etching process may result in a chamfer 44 of the spacer material,the spacer 36, e.g., nitride, will act as an etch stop over theunderlying metal material 38 thereby preventing potential contact togate shorts that would otherwise result from conventional replacementgate processes which use the less robust material of the spacer 22. Thatis, in conventional replacement gate processes, the less robust spacermaterial 22, e.g., SiBCN or SiOCN, etc., will etch away during theetching process to form the self-aligned contact opening, thus exposingthe metal material 38 to the contact material, e.g., contact material46. The self-aligned contact opening can then be filled with contactmaterial 46, e.g., copper or other metal material.

The method(s) as described above is used in the fabrication ofintegrated circuit chips. The resulting integrated circuit chips can bedistributed by the fabricator in raw wafer form (that is, as a singlewafer that has multiple unpackaged chips), as a bare die, or in apackaged form. In the latter case the chip is mounted in a single chippackage (such as a plastic carrier, with leads that are affixed to amotherboard or other higher level carrier) or in a multichip package(such as a ceramic carrier that has either or both surfaceinterconnections or buried interconnections). In any case the chip isthen integrated with other chips, discrete circuit elements, and/orother signal processing devices as part of either (a) an intermediateproduct, such as a motherboard, or (b) an end product. The end productcan be any product that includes integrated circuit chips, ranging fromtoys and other low-end applications to advanced computer products havinga display, a keyboard or other input device, and a central processor.

The descriptions of the various embodiments of the present inventionhave been presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intendedto be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed. Manymodifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skillin the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the describedembodiments. The terminology used herein was chosen to best explain theprinciples of the embodiments, the practical application or technicalimprovement over technologies found in the marketplace, or to enableothers of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodimentsdisclosed herein.

What is claimed:
 1. A method comprising: forming a dummy gate structurewith a first spacer; forming a gate dielectric material on the firstspacer; removing a portion of the first spacer to form a space betweenan interlevel dielectric material and the gate dielectric material;etching the gate dielectric material from within the space to form arecessed portion with exposure of sidewalls of the interlevel dielectricmaterial above the first spacer; depositing a second spacer on theexposed sidewalls of the interlevel dielectric material; filling therecessed portion with a metal gate material; and forming a self-alignedcontact adjacent to the metal gate material.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein the second spacer is resistive to a self-aligned contact etchingprocess.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein material of the second spaceris nitride and material of the first spacer is an oxide material.
 4. Themethod of claim 3, wherein the second spacer prevents the metal gatematerial from contacting the self-aligned contact.
 5. The method ofclaim 4, wherein the forming of the self-aligned contact comprisespatterning an opening within a dielectric material and filling theopening with a contact material.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein thesecond spacer acts as an etch stop preventing exposure of the metal gatematerial to the contact material during a patterning of an opening inthe dummy gate structure.
 7. The method of claim 1, further comprisingdepositing a metal material on the gate dielectric material.
 8. Themethod of claim 7, further comprising etching the metal material fromwithin the space to form the recessed portion.
 9. The method of claim 8,wherein the etching the metal material is a lateral etching which opensa seam in the metal material formed from deposition processes.
 10. Amethod comprising: forming a dummy gate structure with a first spacer;forming a gate dielectric material on the first spacer; removing aportion of the first spacer to form a space between an interleveldielectric material and the gate dielectric material; etching the gatedielectric material from within the space to form a recessed portionwith exposure of sidewalls of the interlevel dielectric material abovethe first spacer; depositing a second spacer on the exposed sidewalls ofthe interlevel dielectric material; filling the recessed portion with ametal gate material; depositing a metal material on the gate dielectricmaterial; and etching the metal material from within the space to formthe recessed portion, wherein the etching the metal material is alateral etching which opens a seam in the metal material formed fromdeposition processes, wherein the lateral etching removes upper portionsof the gate dielectric material and the metal material, while preservinga workfunction material at a bottom of the seam.
 11. The method of claim10, wherein the portion of the first spacer is removed to a level of theseam and the seam is plugged with the metal gate material.
 12. A methodcomprising: forming a dummy gate structure with a first spacer; forminga gate dielectric material on the first spacer; removing a portion ofthe first spacer to form a space between an interlevel dielectricmaterial and the gate dielectric material; etching the gate dielectricmaterial from within the space to form a recessed portion with exposureof sidewalls of the interlevel dielectric material above the firstspacer; depositing a second spacer on the exposed sidewalls of theinterlevel dielectric material; filling the recessed portion with ametal gate material; and forming a cap layer on the metal gate material.